Photographer’s exhibit sheds light on daily life around the world

  Arts+Culture  

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Riverside artist Peter Erhard, a La Sierra University professor emeritus, will exhibit his photography at La Sierra’s Brandstater Gallery in a show depicting the lives of people in various countries.

A builder of ‘sampan,’ or small boats in Hoi An village in Vietnam.
A builder of ‘sampan,’ or small boats in Hoi An village in Vietnam.
A Gypsy boy on the Island of Patmos, a Greek Island in the Aegean Sea pauses for a photograph in a black and white by Peter Erhard whose work is drawn from the lives of people in various countries.
A Gypsy boy on the Island of Patmos, a Greek Island in the Aegean Sea pauses for a photograph in a black and white by Peter Erhard whose work is drawn from the lives of people in various countries.
A composition black and white photo titled “Emperor of Jade” by emeritus photography professor Peter Erhard.
A composition black and white photo titled “Emperor of Jade” by emeritus photography professor Peter Erhard.
A child of the H’mong people in the Sa Pa hills, in Vietnam’s far north west. A photograph by Riverside artist Peter Erhard.
A child of the H’mong people in the Sa Pa hills, in Vietnam’s far north west. A photograph by Riverside artist Peter Erhard.

Erhard’s exhibit of roughly 26 photos will showcase his black and white photography in Vietnam and a small collection of color work taken of people in countries around the world. The show will take place Sept. 5 -- 28. A reception will be held in the gallery on Mon., Sept. 18 from 5 - 7 p.m. where Erhard will answer questions and introduce his work.

In his book, “Seven Watermelon Seeds,” Erhard describes his preference for black and white photography as providing a documentary, “a fraction of a second, of one or more person’s life as they go about their daily activities.” His documentation of Vietnam has spanned from 1991 to 2017 with over 15 trips. Erhard focuses on “the beauty of the common people, common things and everyday activities.” Erhard aims to “respect the hard working Vietnamese citizens, their land and their great heroic heritage,” he writes.

Erhard studied drawing, painting and printmaking while earning his bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the School of Art Institute in Chicago. He completed a year of postgraduate study in visual communication design at The Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. In addition, Erhard obtained a Master of Fine Arts in graphic design and advertising from The College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University.

Erhard spent time making a career as a graphic designer in Chicago and Denver. He later taught graphic design, printmaking and photography at Andrews University and La Sierra. Erhard taught at La Sierra between 1998 and 2008. Since retiring, he has focused on his photography and has exhibited select photographs in Southern California, New York, Michigan and Indiana.  

Recently, Erhard’s merit and excellence award-winning photographs were published in several Black & White magazine issues between 2013 and 2016. Erhard has received two awards of merit from the International Fine Art Photography Competition sponsored by The de Groot Foundation in Paris, France. The two photographs were displayed in a 2013 exhibit at the Brandstater Gallery and the T. Elliott Gallery exhibition in Riverside this year.

Brandstater Gallery hours are Tues. – Thurs., 1 -- 5 p.m. Admission is free. For further information call 951-785-2170. La Sierra University is located at 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside. A campus map is available at https://lasierra.edu/campus-map/.

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